Be the parent, spouse, and friend you want to be

Traditional Chinese Medicine for the Whole Family

By Senia Tuominen, L.Ac.

“Gwen” called me one day, in pain but beside herself with worry more than anything.  She’d been having stomach pain for over three years, since the birth of her second child, and her doctors were at a loss for how to help her anymore.  “I can’t do what I need to do for my family,” she said.  “I’m uncomfortable all day long and nothing seems to help.  I was taking steroids for a while and although I hated to be on them because of the side effects it was such a relief to feel good for three months.  But now the pain is back.  The worst part is I can’t run anymore.  Running is my outlet, it’s the one thing I do for myself but my stomach cramps are so bad it’s not even worth going out.  I’m going crazy.  My son needs a lot of attention and I just can’t give it to him, I’m even more upset when he’s upset.  My kids are the most important thing in my life but I can’t be the mom that I want to be because of this constant stomach pain.  Is there anything you can do to help?”

 
As a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and specifically as a specialist in digestive health and wellness, I knew there was a great chance I could help her and my medicine could be her best hope for living the life she wanted.  Gwen had raised a good question: how can you be the parent, spouse, and friend you want to be when you’re suffering every day?
On the afternoon when Gwen came in to see me, I quickly learned that not only did she have severe stomach pain, she also had difficulty swallowing, fatigue, trouble sleeping and irritability.  Her whole body was reacting to her digestion being off.  We needed to cleanse her digestion, boost her energy, calm her spirit, and help her stomach and esophagus send her food downward.  
After her first acupuncture treatment Gwen got off the table feeling fabulous—pain free and joyful.  That heavy pressure she felt in her stomach for the past three years was gone.  I reassured her she would feel good for a day or two, and as we used the acupuncture to re-train her body how to naturally function, the results would last longer and longer.  Gwen said when she went home that night she was able to cook dinner and when her son was crying she could pick him up and bounce him until he was happy again, rather than getting anxious about trying to manage multiple things at once.
That first week we did acupuncture twice, with Gwen feeling great for a full day after each visit. We added in herbs and switched to acupuncture treatments once a week because she was feeling a little better and finding childcare was an issue for her.  I use herbs a lot with my patients because it gives the body a way to balance itself every day at home, instead of just finding balance on the day of the acupuncture treatment; ultimately we get faster results and it’s more cost effective.  The herbs in tablet form were easy for Gwen to take with meals and she noticed that her stomach felt better for several days at a time.  Although she felt relieved she still worried that the effects would stop, as it had with the steroids.
Acupuncture and herbs were a great start, the next step was discussing things she could do at home to keep herself feeling great.  Gwen was trying to cut out gluten, but when that wasn’t enough to ease her pain she thought she had to cut out dairy or meat, and she was panicking that pretty soon she wasn’t going to be able to eat anything.
A super restrictive diet wasn’t necessary though.  She needed to learn how to eat rather than focusing so much on what to eat.  Gwen noticed significant changes when she ate in a way that helped her digest the food she was eating.  Knowing that the digestion functions best when food is at body temperature or warmer, she cut out ice water and reduced the amount of cold food she was eating.  Previously, Gwen was so busy all day she often ate cereal instead of lunch or skipped it altogether.  Now she focused on eating more cooked foods like soup, toasted sandwiches, and steamed vegetables.  Raw foods and things directly out of the fridge were too difficult for her stomach to digest and warming them up first made her belly feel more settled.  
Gwen was tired every day and relying on coffee to keep her going, but what she didn’t realize was that coffee is bitter and draining, and while it moved the little energy she had it was depleting her even more.  As we boosted her body’s natural energy and helped her extract more from her food, she naturally didn’t need caffeine every day.  By eating her largest meal at lunch when her digestive fire was strongest and including more protein at breakfast her energy was also better throughout the day.
It’s impressive how well Gwen’s kids responded to the new dietary principles as well.  Usually they would eat only a small amount of vegetables, but when steamed they ate three times as much.  Cooked vegetables are much easier for children to digest and they won’t feel full while their digestion struggles to break it down.  Her son was less fussy when he ate less bread and cereal and his stomach was more settled from the digestive enzymes the vegetables gave him.  Gwen fed them a larger lunch and smaller dinner that they could digest by bedtime so they had more even energy, slept more soundly and woke up less during the night.  Overall the whole family was falling into a more natural rhythm.
All the little changes started to make a big difference.  Gwen started to notice that she could eat pizza every once in a while with the kids again.  Instead of having to cook one meal for her family and a separate meal for herself, she could add ingredients to help her body tolerate the foods her family liked and still keep her digestion moving.  She did this by adding garlic to pizza and eating bitter greens and radishes with carb-rich food.  
One day Gwen went out for a walk and could run a mile without her stomach cramping up—what a relief to get those endorphins moving!  The acupuncture treatments, the lack of pain, and the ability to run did wonders for her mental health.  Now instead of crying with frustration many nights when her husband got home, they could talk about issues and decide together how to resolve them.  
After several weeks of treatment, Gwen was feeling good enough to space her appointments out to every other week.  We adjusted her herbs as she improved.  She was still feeling a little irritable because her husband was traveling more, so we switched her to powdered herbs to individualize her formula to better suit her and added herbs to help her relax.  She said after her very first dose a sense of calm washed over her, like she could handle anything that came her way while her husband was gone.  The last herbal formula did the trick and her stomach fully healed.  We were able to wean her off the herbs and do one last acupuncture treatment for good measure and she felt healthy enough to go her own way.
It’s been a while since I talked to Gwen.  Last I heard she ran her first marathon and hit her goal time.  I hope that she’s forgotten how each mile used to make her stomach cramp and now can just throw on her shoes and go for a run when she needs to get out of the house.   It’s crucial to have something that’s all yours when you’re a mom, especially if you want to be the best mom you can be.
How Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) can help your whole family
Gwen’s situation isn’t uncommon.  Is it hard for you to be the parent you want to be because your health is getting in the way?  Is your child’s health preventing them from being as amazing as you know they could be?  Traditional Chinese Medicine can help with dozens of health issues that impact your whole family.  While most people picture adults getting acupuncture, children who are old enough to lie down and remain still for 10-15 minutes can receive acupuncture as well.  Food therapy like Gwen used and small doses of simple herbal formulas can also be beneficial.  
When would you seek out a TCM practitioner?

• You have digestive discomfort, bloating, or need to use the bathroom a lot, as in irritable bowel syndrome
• Your energy is low or you need sugar and caffeine on a daily basis to keep going
• You’re not yourself at specific times of the month due to PMS, irritability, or pain
• You don’t sleep well and it’s affecting your day
• You rely on antibiotics to keep your skin clear
• You have seasonal allergies or food sensitivities
• You want to avoid going on medications or work with your doctor to get off ones you’re on
• Your current health care team doesn’t know how to help you